The present invention relates generally to books and more particularly to a book comprised of and bound by a flexible and supportive material.
Reading materials in general, and books specifically, have existed for thousands of years. New materials have been developed since the time of papyrus and have been utilized in the construction and binding of reading materials. Books have traditionally been produced utilizing paper for the pages and thicker paper or cardboard for the covers. These materials can be extremely heavy, unwieldy, and in the case of children, can create the risk of injury due to lacerations and abrasions. Several patents have contemplated replacing these traditional materials with alternatives for both page and cover. U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,241 discloses a book construction technique in which the pages are constructed of cloth, and filled with plastic or rubber. While that patent discloses a book construction by surrounding soft rubber with a cloth material, a multitude of difficulties are presented. Cloth is a material with considerable limitations. These limitations are due in part from cloth""s limited durability. Cloth must be sewn into or printed onto in order to create suitable reading material. Additionally, the construction technique required to construct the above book, mandated the use of sewing needles and thread.
A children""s book comprised of foam leaves is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,909. While recognizing the benefits of foam construction, the ""909 patent contemplates the absence of a cover material in order to create a book that is washable, and that may be used in a bathing environment. Additionally, the ""909 patent contemplates the die cutting of foam parts from the leaves of the books as puzzle pieces. However, without additional support, foam is highly malleable and easily deformed due to changes in pressure or heat.
Therefore, a need exists in the art to provide a book suitable for small children which has pages constructed of a soft foam material, is bound with a flexible and supportive material, and is easily die cut.
The present invention relates generally to books and more particularly to foam materials and methods for binding.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a foam book comprising a front cover page having a perimeter and substantially comprised of foam and a rear cover page having a perimeter and substantially comprised of foam. Further, at least one page having a perimeter and residing between the front cover page and the rear cover page is provided, with the at least one page substantially comprised of foam; the front cover page, the rear cover page, and the at least one page together form pages of a foam book including a spine and a perimeter. Additionally, a book binding portion is provided, fixedly attached with and covering the spine of the foam book and a portion of the front cover page and the rear cover page such that a portion of the perimeter of the front cover page and the rear cover page may extend beyond the binding. The foam book further includes a plurality of page binding portions, with one page binding portion residing between each pair pages, attached with, and covering the pages such that a portion of the perimeter each of the pages extends beyond the page binding portion, with both the book binding portion and the page binding portions attached to allow the pages of the book to open and close; whereby the book binding portion and the plurality of page binding portions serve to bind all of the pages of the book together and allow for opening and closing the pages and whereby the perimeter of a portion of each of the pages may extend beyond the book binding portion and the page binding portions to provide a soft perimeter of the book.
In another embodiment, the book binding portion and page binding portions of the foam book are comprised of a flexible and supportive material.
In a still further embodiment of foam book, at least one shape is stamped into at least one of the book binding portion and page binding portions and into the foam of the pages covered thereby in order to form impression-type shapes in the pages.
In an additional embodiment, in foam book, the book binding portion and the page binding portions are comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of paperboard, laminated paperboard, plastic, and cloth.
In another embodiment, in the foam book, portions of at least one of the front cover page, the rear cover page, the at least one page therebetween, the book binding portion, and the page binding portions are cut partially or wholly through to form cut-out shapes therefrom. The cut-out shapes may be replaced into the portions of the at least one of the front cover page, the rear cover page, the at least one page therebetween, the book binding portion, and the page binding portions where they were cut from. The cut-out shapes may be formed in various shapes such as puzzle pieces.
In the foam book, the book binding portion and the page binding portions may be comprised of mutually different materials.
In another embodiment of the foam book, the foam book comprises a front cover page having a perimeter and substantially comprised of foam, a rear cover page having a perimeter and substantially comprised of foam, and at least one page having a perimeter and residing between the front cover page and the rear cover page, the at least one page substantially comprised of foam; the front cover page, the rear cover page, and the at least one page together forming pages of a foam book including a perimeter. Furthermore, a plurality of page binding portions are incorporated in the foam book, with one page binding portion residing between each pair pages, attached with, and covering the pages such that a portion of the perimeter each of the pages extends beyond the page binding portion, with page binding portions attached to allow the pages of the book to open and close; whereby the plurality of page binding portions serve to bind all of the pages of the book together and allow for opening and closing the pages and whereby the perimeter of a portion of each of the pages extends beyond the page binding portions to provide a soft perimeter of the book. The page binding portions in this embodiment are preferably comprised of a flexible and supportive material.
Furthermore, at least one shape may be stamped into at least one of the page binding portions and into the foam of the pages covered thereby in order to form impression-type shapes in the pages.
The page binding portions are generally comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of paperboard, laminated paperboard, plastic, and cloth.
In another embodiment, and in addition to the above features, in the foam book, portions of at least one of the front cover page, the rear cover page, the at least one page therebetween, and the page binding portions are cut partially or wholly through to form cut-out shapes therefrom. The cut-out shapes may be replaced into the portions of the at least one of the front cover page, the rear cover page, the at least one page therebetween, and the page binding portions where they were cut from. Additionally, the cut-out shapes are in the form of puzzle pieces. The page binding portions may be comprised of a material that forms an erasable writing surface.
These and other advantages of the present invention will be made more apparent with reference to the detailed description and the drawings provided herein.